Proper weight management is important to facilitate a healthy lifestyle and reduces the risk of major chronic diseases. The rate of obesity in the United States is nearly one-third of all adults and more than two-thirds of adults are considered overweight. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has now declared obesity an epidemic. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's “Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005” the high prevalence of overweight and obese adults is a great public health concern “because excess body fat leads to a higher risk for premature death, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular disease, stroke, gall bladder disease, respiratory dysfunction, gout, osteoarthritis, and certain kinds of cancers.” The ideal for adults is to achieve and maintain a body weight that optimizes their health.
Approaches to weight and health management are numerous. Products and systems on the market include calorie counting programs, appetite suppressants, meal replacement products, prescription drugs, commercial weight loss programs and many others. The effectiveness of these products and programs vary, often because the various products are not customized to the individual.
National weight management systems such as Weight Watchers® and Jenny Craig® are based on averages. Although these programs are generally considered an improvement over merely “counting calories” the programs are still based upon averages and therefore, do not fully address each individual's variations from the average. Since these programs do not account for individual differences, the results are often less than optimal, unless the individual is average in all relevant aspects.
Another concern in the art is that many weight management systems use a simple scale to measure progress in a weight loss program. Typically, however, dieters seeking to lose weight are most interested in losing body fat. In this situation, using a scale to measure progress can be very misleading, as body weight does not necessarily reflect fat loss or gain. For instance, loss of weight may be a result of less food in the stomach, less water retention or the loss of muscle mass. Therefore, loss of body weight does not necessarily indicate loss of fat.
To more accurately determine fat loss or muscle gain, an accurate measure of body composition is required. Measuring body composition provides a more precise measure of the individual's body fat and lean tissue. Excess body fat leads to increased risk of chronic disease, while increased lean body mass, which is primarily muscle, will increase the metabolic rate in the body. Regular and accurate measuring of body composition provides important feedback necessary to optimize and allow an individual to meet their weight management goals. According to former Surgeon General, C. Everett Koop, “[b]ody fat percentage will become a new standard for health in adults.”
There are many ways to measure body composition. Some methods, such as bioelectrical impedance (using the resistance of electrical flow through the body) and skinfold calipers (measuring the thickness of subcutaneous fat in multiple places on the body, such as the abdomen, arms, thighs and buttocks), have reported error rates of up to 8%. For an individual with a body fat level of 20%, an inaccurate method could indicate body fat as low as 12% or as high as 28%. Therefore, these methods can provide inaccurate and misleading information. Although no body composition measurement method currently offers 100% accuracy, some systems provide accuracy within 1 to 2%. Some of the more precise means for measuring body composition include: plethysmographic air chamber such as the BodPod Body Composition Tracking System (BodPod); Dual X-ray Absorptionmetry (DXA), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT). By accurately measuring body composition the individual can determine the amount of fat and lean tissue that makes up their weight, enabling more precise decisions regarding nutrition and exercise so that the individual's weight and health can best be managed and controlled.
As an individual's body composition changes, their metabolism also changes. An individual's metabolism is the process by which their body converts food into heat or energy. The rate and efficiency at which the body converts food to energy is referred to as the individual's metabolic rate. Many factors may affect an individual's metabolic rate, including genetics, eating habits and fitness level. The individual's metabolic rate is important to weight management as it allows the individual to determine how many calories that individual's body is using. A system that causes an individual to consume an extra 500 calories per day leads to one pound of weight gain per week. Conversely, eating too few calories slows down the body's metabolic rate, causing the body to store more fat and use the muscles for energy. Since many of the national programs are based on averages, individuals may be consuming too many or too few calories without knowing that the program is not right for their body.
An individual's metabolic rate can be measured by gas analysis through either direct or indirect calorimetry. A rough estimate can be determined through an equation using age, sex, height, and weight. Most national weight management programs rely on a predictive equation to estimate metabolic rate. These national programs do not address each individual's calorie-requirements through the more accurate testing of their resting metabolism rate (RMR).
A recent Journal of the American Dietetic Association (ADA) study showed that seven predictive equations, including the Harris-Benedict and the Mifflin equations do not accurately and reliably predict energy needs. Since the predictive equations only estimate RMR based upon an average person, the result of the equation is often not reliable and may differ vastly from the individual's actual RMR. Therefore, programs that utilize these equations may result in the individual consuming too many or too few calories, leading to ineffective weight control.
Accordingly, a system is needed that utilizes accurate testing of each individual's metabolic rate to calculate caloric needs. This problem has been recognized in other patents, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,478,736 to Mault, incorporated herein by reference, for an integrated calorie management system.
Registered Dietitians (“RD”), food and nutrition experts who hold specific certifications as required by the American Dietetic Association, have used the testing of body composition and metabolic rate for determining caloric intake needs in such settings as hospitals and universities. In most cases, individuals are referred by a physician or health professional to gain access to a Registered Dietitian. Registered Dietitians are able to utilize an individual's body composition and metabolic rate to determine the daily caloric intake necessary for the individual. These tools allow that Dietician to create a specific dietary plan for the individual based upon that individual's unique genetic and physical qualities.
Finally, massage therapy has been used as a health care practice for more than 4,000 years. Generally, massage therapy is used to improve the circulation of blood through the body to improve the healing of body tissue. Further, massage therapy is used to relieve muscle tension, increase flexibility, decrease muscular stress and relieve tension-related conditions.
Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to provide a weight management system that accommodates the individual differences in body composition, metabolic rates and the corresponding changes therein over time into a program that facilitates proper weight management for an individual.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a structured system wherein the individual is regularly tested so that their dietary needs may be periodically adjusted.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a weight management system that includes an accountability system, reinforcing behavior conducive to effective weight management and to prevent crash dieting.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a coping mechanism for dealing with stress relating to weight management to facilitate optimal weight management.
It is another object of the present invention to encourage and teach healthy habits through access to a Registered Dietician or nutritionist in combination with testing of the individual's body composition and metabolic rates over time.